Rise and shine, it’s Championship Sunday.
The last time the Jets made it this far in the playoffs was the 2010 season. Rex Ryan was the head coach and the current Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator was leading New York’s defense.
Now, as the 2019 Jets sit at home, the six-seeded Titans are in Kansas City to take on the No. 2 Chiefs. Meanwhile, the No. 2 Packers are in San Francisco to take on the No. 1 49ers.
With these four teams just one win away from the Super Bowl, we thought we would take a look at a few ex-Jets participating in the second to last round of the playoffs.
Tennesee Titans
Anthony Firkser, who was originally signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard, was part of final camp cuts for Gang Green in 2017.
Since then, Firkser has carved out a role as the third-string tight end for Tennesee. Over the past two seasons, Firkser has 33 receptions for 429 yards and two touchdowns. He had the game-winning touchdown reception for the Titans in their wild-card round win over the New England Patriots.
At wide receiver, Kalif Raymond had a cup of coffee with the Jets back in 2017. Raymond was with the Jets organization for a total of 23 days after the returner demonstrated poor hands on special teams.
In the Divisional Round of the playoffs against the Baltimore Ravens, Raymond caught one pass for a 45-yard touchdown during the Titans’ 28–12 win.
Kansas City Chiefs
While ex-Jets Morris Claiborne and Darron Lee were healthy scratches for the Chiefs in their opening-round win over the Houston Texans, Mike Pennel played an integral role. Pennel started in place of injured Pro Bowl NT Chris Jones (calf).
Claiborne played two seasons for the Jets, effectively being the team’s No. 1 cornerback for two seasons while battling lower-body injuries. New York elected not to bring Claiborne back in 2019 after he was suspended for a violation of the league’s substance-abuse policy.
With Adam Gase’s first move as the acting general manager last offseason, he shipped Lee, the team’s 2016 first-round pick, to Kansas City in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick. Before Mike Maccagnan was axed as the Jets general manager, he elected to decline Pennel’s option. Pennel is likely the only ex-Jet who will suit up for the Chiefs on Sunday.
Green Bay Packers
The only connections to the Jets that will be in Santa Clara for the NFC Championship game on Sunday are Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine and outside linebackers coach Mike Smith.
They held the same roles with the Jets when Rex Ryan was at the helm, as Pettine took Smith under his wing. The two lived with each other near the Jets’ practice facility.
Pettine followed Ryan from Baltimore to New York, while Smith was a coaching intern from 2010-2011 before becoming the team’s OLB coach for the next two seasons. Smith tutored linebacker Aaron Maybin in 2011, who led the Jets with six sacks and four forced fumbles in only 13 games of action.
